Car-seal.



W. D. DOREMUS. CAR SEAL.

(Application filed Ma'y 22, 1899. konawod July 6, 1901.)

(No Model.)

mfg

' 3 noon l'oz l vihnaooco WILLARD D. DOREMUS, OF WASHINGTON, DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA.

CAR-SEAL.

$PEC1FIQATION forming part (if Letters Patent No, 691,716, dated. January 21,1902.

Application filed May 22, 1899. Renewed July ii, 1901. Serial No. 67,379. (No model.)

To aZZ whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, WILLARD D. DOREMUs, a citizen of the United States, residing at Washington city, in the District of Columbia, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Oar-Seals; and I do declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

Myinvention relates to certain new and useful improvements in seals for railroad-cars and other purposes, and particularly to that class in which a shackle-wire is employed which has its opposite ends secured or locked to the seal. In this class of seals, whether made of lead, sheet metal, sheet metal and lead combined, or of fragible material, the main object aimed at is the confinement and concealment of the ends of the shackle-wire within the body of the seal. It is a well-recognized fact that in all such seals the security is only comparative, because they may be readily removed bodily if forcible entrance to the car or package guarded by such seal is desired. The real purpose of such seals is to enable a robbery or fraudulent entry to be traced by an inspection of the seal from time to time, and when upon scrutiny the seal shows that it has been tampered with or removed between two points or localities of inspection it becomes apparent that the fraud or robbery has occurred within the limits of such points of inspection, and hence investigation is specifically directed to such localities.

My invention, While relating to this general class of seals and embodying'the feature of exposing the connection between the seal and the shackle-wire, whereby it may be readily determined whether the seal has been tampered with, consists, broadly, of a sheet metal seal in one piece and constituting. an upper embossed and strengthened portion, a neck with folded wings adapted to be extended and embossed to form a lower body portion, and a shacklewire having eyes at each end surrounding the neck intermediate of the upperand lower portions ofthe seal, as will be hereinafter more fully explained.

In order that those skilled in the art to which my invention appertains may fully un derstand my invention, I will proceed to describe the construction thereof and the manner of using the same, referring by letters to the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a plan View of myimproved seal as it is struck up from ordinary sheet metal,

preferably thin tin of low commercial value.

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the shacklewire. Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the seal shown at Fig. 1, but with the wings of its lower portion folded back upon the central portion to reduce its width and constitute a continuation of the neck and permit the passage of the same through the channels or eyes in each end of the shackle-wire. Fig. 4 is a similar view to that shown at Fig. 3 and with the shackle-wire threaded over the same and located around the neck intermediate of the two portions of the body. Fig. 5 is a view similar to Fig. 4, but with the wings of the lower portion of the body straightened out and embossed to retain the wire against fraudulent removal. Fig. 6 is a plan view showing a design different to that shown at Fig. 1. Fig. 7 is a section on the line a; w of Fig. at.

Similar letters of reference indicate like parts in the several figures of the drawings.

A represents the upper or main body portion of the seal, B the lower body portion, and C the intermediate neck, all stamped by one operation out of sheet metal, and the dies are to be so cut as to impress upon the main body portion any ornamentation or character desired to stiifen and strengthen the same, as clearly illustrated. The wings of the lower body portion B are folded upon the center thereof, as clearly shown at Figs. 3 and 7, so

that the lower portion as an entirety will be of substantially the same width with and constitute a continuation of the neck portion 0 to permit the passage over said folded body portion of the eyes D in the ends of the shackle-wire E, as clearly shown at Figs?) and 7.

In constructing the seal for market only one end of the wire is threaded over the lower folded body portion, the upper corners of which are turned slightly outward, as shown at Fig. 7, to hold said shackle in place until the seal is used upon a car or otherwise, when the opposite end of the shackle is also threaded over the folded body portion, whereupon the wings are then straightened out and subjected to the action of dies in a hand-press to emboss thereon any station-numberor other characters across the lines upon which the metal was previously folded, whereby said lower body portion is stiffened and constitutes a bar against the removal of the shacklewire. As the metal thus operated upon is flat and of only a single thickness, it will be apparent that a press of very small size may be used and that a limited degree of pressure will secure the desired result. After this portion has been embossed, as shown at a, Fig. 5, it will be seen that it the poriiOIl B should be returned to its folded condition with a view to remove the ends D of the wire E such fold would be transverse to the raised or embossed part of the said lower body portion and would not only destroy the embossed lines and cause the metal to break, but if the metal should fail to break the raised or embossed portions would prevent the two folded wings from closing down upon the intermediate portion of the metal sufficiently to permit the eye D of the wire to pass over the same and that it would be necessary to flatten down the embossed portions before the wire could be removed. In either case when the attempt to return the wings to their extended position be made it would be almost certain that one or both of said wings would be broken from the intermediate metal and that even though such action did not ensue the embossed design would be destroyed and plainly manifest thefact that the seal had been tampered with.

The sheet-metal body may be made of any desired or varied design, so that its shape may clearly indicate origin of use. For instance, when used by railroads the general design may be such as to indicate without close inspection the particular road using the seal.

It will be observed that the body of the seal is composed of a single piece and that the juncture or look between the shackle-wire and the seal is at all times in full view and any fraudulent manipulation of the wire would be manifest. It'desirable, the shacklewire may be provided close to each end of the eye D with a crimp Z; (see Fig. 2) or other means to prevent any elongation of said eye with a View to removal of the same from the neck C of the seal.

I desire it to be understood that whatI mean by the lateral expansion or extension of the seal below the point at which the shacklewire is located is expansion or extension in a plane coincident or parallel with the axis of the neck in contradistinction to radial expausion or extension, as in button or rivet seals.

From the foregoing description it will be understood that I do not wish to be limited to any particular contour or design of the body of the seal and that it may be varied in other particulars without departing from the spirit of my invention, the generic feature of which consists of a thin metal body having a neck adapted to pass within the eyes in each end of a shackle-wire and capable of expansion and embossing to constitute a barrier to the removal of the shackle-wire, as hereinbefore described.

What I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

A seal made in one piece, composed of an upper embossed and strengthened portion A, a neck G with folded wings adapted to be straightened out and to constitute a lower body portion B, and a shackle-wireE having eyes D adapted to surround the neck G, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

l VILLARD D. DOREMUS. lVitnesses:

N. CURTIS LAMMOND, \V. M. HANNAY. 

